Democrats’ Barrett Demagoguery

The high stakes of this Supreme Court confirmation brought out the worst in Senate Democrats.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and other Democratic leaders stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol during a news conference after their boycott of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., October 22, 2020.

Ken Cedeno/Reuters

After their floating of the Court-packing notion proved unpopular, and after their redefining of the meaning of “packing” proved unpersuasive, congressional Democrats and the Biden campaign have settled on a new stratagem to confront the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. They now warn that they will visit future “consequences” on the country but do not specify what those consequences will be.

This is mainly saber-rattling out of frustration over being unable to stop Barrett’s appointment. To repeat what I pointed out two weeks ago, Democrats do not appear to have the votes they would need to eliminate the filibuster, which is what it would take to expand the Court and pack it with progressive activist justices. Yet, with Election Day just a week away and control of both the executive and legislative branches hanging in the balance, Democrats cannot afford to depress the turn-out of hard-Left voters (particularly the young, who are notoriously unreliable in terms of converting their Democratic Party sympathies into actual votes).

Andrew C. McCarthy

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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